Sunday, September 09, 2007

This is such a simple recipe I don't know that there actually is a recipe but for all you out there who have grown up with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and think that a sad little Kraft American cheese single on Wonder Bread is the way to go I'm hoping to expand your horizons.

Go to the fancy cheese section of the grocery store and pick out a nice chevre--that's just an all-purpose term for French goat cheese. Not feta, heavens no. A good, fresh chevre such as Montrachet should be soft and spreadable.

Then get a rustic, crusty loaf of bread--Italian, French, sourdough, rye, it doesn't matter just so long as it's thick and crusty and fresh. Spread the cheese on the bread as thick or as thin as you'd like and brush either melted butter or light olive oil on the outside and grill. Melted butter won't tear your bread up the way hard butter can and butter will give it a slightly browner color than olive oil will. You can use a fancy panini machini or grill it in a frying pan the way everyone else does it.

If you want to get creative experiment with sprinkling some fresh chopped herbs over the cheese--perhaps rosemary, oregano, thyme or basil would be good. You could include roasted bell peppers, grilled slices of zucchini or (my favorite) sauteed mushroom slices.

If you have to have meat, try some prosciutto but consider going with just the naked goat cheese. It is really heavenly. Easy, tasty and it goes great with a fresh tomato soup (which gives you a hint to what recipe I'll be posting next week).

I mix monterey jack with sharp cheddar on rustic bread, spreading with butter, sometimes adding some type of thinly sliced meat, poultry or tuna as well as sliced tomatoes and or my favorite, fresh steamed green beans. I grill one side well in a frypan then turn it over, cover it with a small sheet of aluminum foil, then balance a bacon press on top. If I am making many I will use my long electric skillet and use a jellyroll pan that fits perfectly and weight it with the full teakettle.

I am definetely trying the chevre as soon as I can. And of course the perfect accompaniment is tomato soup. Any recipes for that?

I am an inexperienced cheese eater. I have only ever tried the basics...like cheddar, jack, colby, swiss etc. I have eaten brie before...but other than that I am pretty traditional in the cheese realm. I may have to expand my horizons...

Mmm. My grilled cheeses tend to be conservative by comparison: usually good Wisconsin Cheddar or Colby with a thin slice of tomato, fresh from the garden of course. I like the spices suggested! They could possibly go with an America's Dairyland sandwich, too.

And we don't eat Wonder Bread around here...it's all Mrs. Baird's. I'm sure that has something to do with the Mrs. Baird's bakery in my home town. I used to LOVE the field trips to the bakery...fresh, hot bread with butter right off the line. Yum-o!

These look so good! I love goat cheese and one of my favorite things to do is when I am roasting chicken breasts, I put a pat of goat cheese under the skin with some basil and bake it that way. It gets all ooey gooey and I love that!!